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Florida Boy Dies After Being Mauled By Two Pit Bulls

Babette, a female Pit Bull mix, waits to be adopted at the Louisiana Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) in New Orleans, 10 August 2006. Most of the animals rescued after Hurricane Katrina flooded New Orleans have found their way to new homes across the country, but the city?s only animal shelter which operates out of an old coffee warehouse without air conditioning or drainage is still full of pets awaiting adoption. AFP PHOTO / Robyn BECK (Source: ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images)

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RIVERVIEW, Fla. (AP) — A 4-year-old boy in the Tampa Bay area has died after being mauled by his uncle’s two pit bulls, authorities said Sunday.

Logan Shepard was visiting the Riverview home of his aunt and uncle with his mother Saturday night. Billy Frederick Sr., Logan’s uncle, put the dogs in crates just before the boy arrived, said Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Debbie Carter.

Logan was left alone, eating ice cream, while his mother, a teenage cousin and the other adults were talking in another room. The adults heard screaming and discovered that the boy was not in the house, Carter said.

Two deputies conducting an unrelated traffic stop nearby also heard the screams and rushed to the home. Logan was found in the front yard with the dogs standing over him, Carter said.

Frederick immediately put the dogs in crates again, but Logan was pronounced dead at the scene, Carter said.

No charges have been filed, but the dogs were taken by the county’s Animal Services.

There is no history of Animal Services previously being called to Frederick’s home, according to the sheriff’s office.